Mismatched Fragments
by Yangster
Summary: A chance meeting, brought together by two different cascading waves of tragedy, was how Naruto and Sayuri first met each other. Sensing each other's pain, they find themselves seeking the company of the other more and more as they get to know each other, bringing about difficult complications and harsh consequences. Will their unlikely love prevail? Fem!Sasuke. Modern!AU
1. A Chance Meeting

**A/N: Hello people of the internet! I have decided to truly ditch the fluff and create a long and intense story with one of my guilty pleasure pairings which is Naruto x Sasuke. Genderbend Sasuke, of course. Apologies to those who wanted this to be slash. Onward.**

 **Huge announcement though! For the duration of November, I will be focusing on this story as part of a writing challenge amongst fellow writers in the Naruto Fanfiction Discord. I apologize in advance if I disappoint anyone!**

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 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of these characters. I wrote this for fun.**

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 **Mismatched Fragments**

 **By Yangster**

 **Chapter #1: A Chance Meeting**

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 _Yes._

That was the word he wanted to hear when the had gotten down on his knees and poured his heart out.

It had been a wonderful day. The beautiful, blue sky was filled with clouds that looked like fluffy strands of spun white sugar. What stood out the most to him though was the vibrant sun, like a golden globe that shined most brilliantly down on the two of them on that early spring day. The flowers were blooming and the sound of new-life filled the air.

It had great day, perhaps even the perfect day.

But no matter how perfect that day may have been, its beauty to him was shattered the moment he heard those words.

 _No._

He had it all planned out; a trip to the coast on the top of a cliff with a beautiful view before it and a ring made of gold with an elegant emerald in it. He was going to propose to her and she was going to say yes. They were going to be married and have a wonderful life together.

Except that did not happen.

Her rejection came out as a complete surprise. He had been on his knees, the sea breeze running through his blonde hair, a smile on his face that lingered for a few seconds as his brain refused to acknowledge the truth of what she had actually said.

 _I'm sorry, but I just can't._

The ring in his hand had felt like a weighted stone. Its earlier gloss had all but remained as it faded away and became dull.

 _What? Why?_

He wondered if he should have asked. Was the additional pain gained after learning her answer worth it?

 _I just can't see a future with you._

No. It was not. He wanted to be fair and virtuous. To take her words as a lesson to be learned, but he just could not. His mind wracked over it, replaying the scene over and over again, each time leading to him looking over his entire relationship with her and to the eventual question.

 _What did I do wrong?_

It was as if an invisible hand had wrapped around his heart and began to squeeze. He had never choked as hard as he did back then. It had not ended there as the universe decided to put salt into his wounds by making the car ride home extra awkward.

What happened? They had driven there with her head rested against his shoulder and a smile on the both of their faces. They drove back with her in the back. The only thing that kept back the awkward silence was the sound of the radio.

During the entire car ride, he had only one thought in his head.

 _What do I do now?_

Mustering up all the willpower he had, he repressed that thought. It had been plaguing him for a few days now, which he knew was unhealthy. Luckily for him, he had used his vacation days to recuperate and stitch together his shattered self-esteem.

Sadly though, he had to work today.

Turning his gaze to the blaring alarm-clock on the nightstand by his bed, he let out a quiet sigh before crawling out from underneath his covers. Sliding his feet off the bed, he sat for a few seconds after turning off his alarm-clock.

His back felt sore and his shoulderblades ached. It took more effort than usual to stand up.

Trudging over to his bathroom, Naruto barely flinched as he turned on the lights. Its usual, overbearing glare barely fazed him as he turned his head to look at the mirror.

He looked much better than he felt. That was for sure.

Rubbing a hand against the stubble that had developed on the lower-half of his face, he took a mental note of it before turning on his shower and stripping off his clothes. Naruto stood there awkwardly for a few moments as he waited for the shower water to heat up. As he stood, the lure of that earlier thought slowly began to slowly make a re-appearance.

Sliding the shower door open, he stepped inside. He immediately stepped back out before opening the adjacent shower door so that he could adjust the water knob. The water had been too hot.

Stepping in once again, he took in a deep breath as he allowed the hot water to do its magic. It was nice, for a few seconds, in till the sound of the water hitting the tile floor turned into white noise as he was once again alone with his thoughts.

Tilting his head, he allowed the hot water to drape over his blonde hair, causing it to slant downwards and to darken. He would have to be quick, as he knew that there was no other place where ones thoughts were as pervasive than in a shower. Usually that was a good thing.

His usual fifteen minute shower was cut to only five before he stepped out on to a mat. Grabbing a clean towel, he began to wipe himself dry. He spent a bit of extra time drying his hair as roughly as he could as even the sound of towel scraping a bit against his scalp was able to help drown out any more thoughts from entering his head.

He took another deep breath before grabbing his razor and stepping in front of his mirror. Leaning forward a bit, he stretched the skin of his chin to perform a last minute inspection before he applied a lather of shaving cream and began shaving.

Perhaps if he just focused on his morning routine, he would be able to stop himself from thinking any further about what had transpired. He would just need to last in till he got to work. There, he would be able to just focus on keeping his customers happy.

Rinsing off, he left his bathroom and began making his way to his dresser to grab his work clothes and an additional outfit to change into after work.

He paused as he saw the open ring box on top of the dresser. The glimmering emerald shined annoyingly in the dim light, almost as it was mocking him. Sighing quietly, he got dressed and placed a change of clothes into his work bag.

Leaning back up, he looked at the open ring box once more. Frowning, he closed it. It was better to get rid of it before it caused any more unpleasant thoughts, he figured.

Grabbing his keys, he walked out of his front door before heading down to the underground parking of his apartment complex.

He passed by the usual cars on his way to his own. It was a bit discouraging to know that each and every single one of their cars were better than his. There was no helping it however, as he was the one who had chosen to live so close to the local rich kid academy.

It amused him that whilst everyone was driving automatic, he still drove manual. Leave that fancy stuff to the new guys he always said.

Even though he was not that old. Still, his old man had always been old-fashioned. Naruto would like to say that he learned from the best, but he knew that would not be true.

He hated lying, even to himself.

Sticking in his key and turning it, he took a quiet moment to revel in this satisfying sound of it starting up. He breathed in a bit as he placed his hands firmly on the wheel.

One day at a time. He could do this. If he just kept reminding himself of motivational phrases, he was sure he could get through the day.

The drive was as mundane as ever, which was to be expected as nothing ever really changed in the big city. People walked through the streets, most of them wearing business clothing and busily looking down at their phones. It was a miracle how no one bumped into anyone despite almost every single one of them having their eyes glued to a screen.

As a person that never bought into the whole smartphone usage thing, Naruto felt as if he was a spectator, observing as all of civilization became consumed by phone usage.

Just kidding. He also owned a smartphone, but he seldom used it. He was awful with technology and also clumsy with it.

It only took him fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant where he worked. It was a grand place that served avant garde Japanese cuisine. He liked it because unlike some of the more pretentious restaurants, the head chef stuck to traditional ingredients instead of all that rich stuff like caviar or gold flake or foie gras.

There was something strange about it though, and that would have to be the fact that Naruto could never remember the name of the restaurant. Luckily, his employers were able to overlook this.

Parking his car, he stepped out and made his way into the restaurant. His presence was alerted to the entire restaurant when the person at the front greeted him.

"Good morning, Naruto!" exclaimed Temari, offering him a polite wave as she smiled.

He did his best to match her smile, "Mornin' Temari."

"How's it going?" she asked, quirking her head a bit to the side.

"Oh, just the usual," answered Naruto, the corner of his lip twitching ever so slightly as he tried to fake enthusiasm.

She looked at him for a second.

"Well, alright then. Get yourself familiarized with the specials today and make sure to tell my brother to stop threatening the line cooks," replied Temari as he gestured over to the main hall.

"Alright," said Naruto in response, "Take care, Temari."

"You too, Naruto."

Nodding his head politely, he walked past her before making his way to the main hall. There, the head chef along with the restaurant manager were speaking to the line of waiters and waitresses. Shuffling into the line, Naruto managed to slip in without being noticed.

"Today's specials will be a grilled octopus leg with a sweet miso sauce as appetizer, seared mackeral with a garnish of spring cabbage puree, drizzled with a light soy reduction and a miso poached salmon in a light fish broth with spring vegetables as the two entrees," began Gaara, the head chef, pausing to take a breath before continuing, "For dessert, we have a coffee jelly topped with whipped cream.

Naruto's stomach rumbled quietly, a reminder that he had not eaten breakfast that day.

He watched as Gaara's gaze turned from the line to him for a quick second. Perhaps his stomach rumble was not as quiet as he thought it was.

"You may now all start your duties," stated Kankuro, who was standing next to Gaara, as he adjusted his silk tie to emphasize his words.

With that said, the line dispersed. Naruto began walking to his station only to be stopped as he heard Gaara call his name.

"Naruto."

He turned around, "Yes, chef?"

Gaara blinked a bit at the formality in Naruto's voice, "I was just wondering if you wanted to test out the specials."

"Oh, sure," replied Naruto with a shrug, "I have a question though."

"Which is?"

"How come you always ask me to test out the new dishes? You don't ask anyone else to."

Gaara shifted a bit before walking towards him. Naruto stiffened up a bit as he felt Gaara place his hand on his shoulder.

"I've told you this multiple times, Naruto," stated Gaara plainly.

"You have?" asked Naruto quietly.

Gaara nodded, "I've told you before that you have a sophisticated palate, Naruto. You just always get me to repeat myself because you like the praise."

"Heh," snorted Naruto softly as he raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, "Guilty."

"Yes, well, come with me," replied Gaara, the corners of his lips curving upward to form a subtle smile before quickly vanishing.

"Alright."

Following Gaara into the kitchen, Naruto was quickly seated at the counter in the center of the room. Within seconds, all the dishes that Gaara had listed off early were placed in front of him. It all smelled absolutely amazing and Naruto was sure that they would taste just as if not more amazing.

"Enjoy, Naruto," suggested Gaara as he placed a pair of chopsticks in front of Naruto before reaching for and wiping his hands with a clean towel.

Naruto looked up from the food at Gaara, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," replied Gaara as he placed the towel into a bin and took up a seat opposite of Naruto, "Tell me what you think about them once you finish."

"Alright," said Naruto in response, nodding his head as he picked up the pair of chopsticks.

Deciding to start off with the appetizer, Naruto looked down at the beautifully grilled octopus dish in front of him. It was wonderfully plump and looked very tender. Picking up a piece, he dipped it into the sweet miso sauce before taking a bite.

His eyes widened as he began chewing. A crispy layer had developed from the heat of the grill, creating this wonderful contrast to the delicate octopus flesh underneath it. It was so soft that he felt as if he was eating lobster. The sweet miso sauce was nothing to scoff at either. Its delicate sweetness and smoothness was the perfect compliment to the delicious octopus.

"Well, how was the first dish?" asked Gaara, his voice carrying a bit of mirth in it as he asked his question.

"It's fantastic," answered Naruto as he shook his head a few times to overcome the overwhelming joy spreading on his tongue.

He cleared his throat, "Your food is amazing, just like always, Gaara."

"Try the next dish," replied Gaara, gesturing towards the mackeral.

Naruto chuckled quietly, "I don't know if I'm ready for it."

"You'll be fine. It's just food," said Gaara with a shrug, "Now come on, we've got only half an hour in till our first reservations arrive."

"Alright, alright, I get it," grumbled Naruto quietly as he chunked a small piece of mackeral with his chopsticks, causing a light crunching sound to fill the room as his chopsticks broke through perfectly crisped fish skin.

He then picked up a bit of the puree before spreading it atop the glistening fish meat. Not only did it smell wonderful, but it also looked beautiful. That light green provided the perfect contrast to that brown mackeral meat. Placing the piece he picked up into his mouth, Naruto felt his lips curve upward instinctively as the taste of spring filled his palate.

"Woah," let out Naruto quietly as he chewed, "What's in the puree? I taste something a bit sour and sweet?"

"I added in a little bit of sake and just a bit of vinegar," answered Gaara, the corner of his lip curving upward into a slight smirk, "Mackeral's a heavy fish. It needs something to cut through that oily fat."

Naruto nodded slowly as he swallowed, "That was really good."

"Hah," snorted Gaara, an actual smile appearing on his face for once, "Leave it to you to describe something like this with such simple words."

"Didn't you always say that simple was best?" asked Naruto, quirking a brow.

"Only when it came to food," replied Gaara, his smile lingering for a second before fading away completely.

Naruto chuckled quietly, "Alright, sure. Next dish right?"

Gaara nodded.

Cutting a piece of salmon from the next dish, Naruto squeezed in a piece of bok choy between his chopsticks along with the salmon before taking a bite. He let out an appreciative hum at the wonderful texture and flavour. The broth really did wrap the whole thing together. The dish as a whole was warm and soothing, which was exactly what he needed at the moment.

"I like it," stated Naruto quietly, "It's good."

Gaara quirked a brow, "Something wrong?"

Naruto shook his head, "No. It's nothing."

There was a moment of silence.

"Are you sure?" asked Gaara, his lips pursing as he saw Naruto begin to frown.

"Yes, I'm fine," answered Naruto with a sigh before he turned his attention to the last dish on the table, "I'll just quickly sample that last one so that I can start setting up my station."

He winced inwardly. It was not like for him to brush Gaara off whenever he asked about him. Usually, he was much more open to discussing his problems. Usually.

Gaara took in a deep breath before sliding Naruto a spoon, "Okay. Enjoy."

Placing his chopsticks down on to the counter, Naruto picked up the spoon. Pressing the back of the spoon against the coffee jelly, Naruto felt himself relax a bit as he played with the bounciness of the jelly for a few seconds. Slowly pressing the edge of his spoon against the jelly, Naruto found some satisfaction as the jelly sprung up as it was cut into.

He then took a bite.

It was refreshing and it was a good way to end the meal after eating all those savoury dishes. He liked how it was so simple, just coffee jelly and some whipped cream. Licking his teeth, Naruto quirked a brow as he tried to figure out where the coffee had come from.

"I'm going to guess Portuguese coffee," stated Naruto as he turned his attention from the dessert to his friend from the desert.

"Correct," replied Gaara simply with an approving nod.

"You always did like coffee from there the best," remarked Naruto as he took another bite.

Gaara snorted, "That is because they are the best."

"Some might argue."

"Then they are wrong."

Naruto chuckled before placing the spoon down on to the counter, "So when are you ever going to make a ramen dish for the daily special, huh?"

"This isn't a noodle bar, Naruto," replied Gaara with a smirk as he leaned forward and placed his elbows on the counter, "Plus it'd take too long to make a broth good enough to fit my standards whilst also having to make other dishes."

"Yeah, yeah. Alright. You've told me this before," said Naruto as he waved a dismissive hand.

"And yet you still keep asking."

Naruto smiled softly, "A man can hope right?"

"There shall be no hope in my kitchen. Only cold, brutal efficiency, and delicious cooking," stated Gaara firmly with a nod.

"Oh, that reminds me," began Naruto, prompting Gaara to quirk a brow, "Temari told me to tell you that you should stop threatening the line cooks."

Gaara groaned, "Ugh. It is not my fault that threatening them is the only way to get them to do what I want."

"You could always try being nic-"

"No."

Naruto blinked once, twice, before shrugging, "Alright then."

Standing up from his seat, Naruto went over to wash his hands. Drying his hands with a paper towel, he then made his way to the door. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped when Gaara spoke up.

"It's Sakura, isn't it?"

Naruto stiffened up, prompting Gaara to narrow his eyes. Just what could have had happened to turn his usually perky and cheerful friend this solemn and moody?

"Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't," replied Naruto vaguely as he turned his head to look at Gaara from the corner of his eye.

"It is," stated Gaara with a sigh as he walked up behind Naruto and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto took a deep breath, his shoulders heaving a bit as he did so, "Look, I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Naruto," replied Gaara as he offered Naruto an uncharacteristically reassuring smile, "Just know that your fellow employees here at this restaurant have your back."

Naruto nodded slowly, "Thanks for that, Gaara."

He then cleared his throat.

"Well, I gotta go prep my tables," said Naruto as he turned around so that he can get a more proper look at his friend, "I'll talk to you later."

"Take care, Naruto."

Naruto waved a polite goodbye, "See ya, Gaara."

Rushing over to the tables that he oversaw, he quickly made sure that they were all prepped with the appropriate amount of utensils and glasses. He had overstayed his little visit to the kitchen and now he was paying for it. Placing the last wine glass on to the last table, Naruto let out a deep breath. Now all he had to do was wait for the first wave to arrive. Which meant he would have nothing but his thoughts to keep him entertained for the time being.

It did not help that he had barely gotten any sleep the night before, so now on top of the unpleasant thoughts, he was also running the risk of hallucinating.

Glancing through the windows, Naruto allowed himself to gaze at the amazing scenery outside and took note that it had began to rain. It was a sudden immense downpour, which was a faily normal occurance, especially in the region where he lived. Hopefully they did not get too many typhoons this year.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he tuned himself into the quiet pitter patter of rain on the roof of the restaurant as he lulled himself into a slight meditative trance. Today was just any other normal day. He would work hard and he would make the diners smile. Perhaps he would be able to cheer himself up by immersing himself in the happiness of others.

"Alright.."

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes before exhaling. Alright. He was ready. He was going to forget about everything and just focus on creating the best dining experience he can possibly provide for everyone eating at the restaurant.

Now he had just one question.

Who was he going to be serving first?

Just a few moments after he asked himself that, he heard the front door open and close, followed up by Temari's enthusiastic greeting. Stretching his neck a little and tilting his head a bit to see who had just arrived. Usually the first reservations would be sent over to his section because he was a bit closer to the entrance. Surprisingly enough, it was also the extremely wealthy that dined at his section as well, due to the amazing view outside the windows.

Nothing like dining on amazing Japanese food whilst looking outside at an amazing garden where the seasonal vegetables were grown. Hopefully in Gaara's stubborness to show off his prized vegetable garden, they would not end up all drowning in the heavy rain.

He heard a quiet conversation between Temari and the first guests. After a few moments, the first group of diners revealed themselves.

Naruto widened his eyes.

It was a family, but not just any family. It was probably the most important family he would ever serve in his career in the service industry.

They were known for their immense wealth and staggering monopoly in the eyecare and eyewear industry in Japan, along with every other country in the Group of Seven. Not only were they famous for their eyewear, but they were also famous for their bold, red eyes. Almost every member of their prestigious family had them. It was truly one of the more unique traits that one could have in Japan, especially since most people simply had black hair and brown eyes.

Naruto swallowed quietly in anticipation as Temari directed them over to his station. Their gaze was intimidating, especially as they turned to look at him. Breathing a bit, Naruto steeled his nerves before putting on the most welcoming smile he could muster.

It was not everyday that one got to serve the Uchiha.

He would do his best to impress.

And to hopefully forget.

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 **A/N: Wowee, that took a while to write. I think it was worth it though because I had fun along the way. I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter of Mismatched Fragments! Please favourite, follow and review! I love feedback!**


	2. A Rainy Day

**A/N: Howdy folks! Welcome to chapter two of Mismatched Fragments, the story I will be focusing on during the whole of November. I hope you guys all enjoyed chapter one, so let's begin! Onward!  
**

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 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of these characters. I wrote this for fun.**

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 **Mismatched Fragments**

 **By Yangster**

 **Chapter #2: A Rainy Day**

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 _It is not your fault._

That had been what her brother had told her in his note. The note that she had found before him as he had hanged from the ceiling.

It had just been an ordinary day when she had found his body, hanging from the ceiling via a leather belt. All she could do was look. She knew that he was long gone by the time that she had entered his room. It had felt like her entire world slowed down to a crawl as her brain tried to process the weight of the scene in front of her. All she could do was hold her silence in till she could not.

 _Itachi... No. No. No..._

No one should have to bear witness to the corpse of their own flesh and blood. She had felt like she wanted to vomit, to cry and to die all at the same time. Anything would have been a better alternative at that moment.

 _Lady Sayuri, what are you... Oh.._

She could still remember how her hands had shook as she held them out towards her brother. She had wanted to pull him down, but in the end, she was not strong enough. In the end, it had been their butler, Kakashi, that had to pull Itachi down whilst she had a silent breakdown at the dining table.

Her parents had came back as quickly as they could, but not quick enough that they were able to be there when the EMTs slammed close the doors of their ambulance on her brother. The finality in the sound of the ambulance driving away would haunt her forever.

The news of her brother's untimely passing was kept hidden from the news. It would not do their reputation any favours if the whole world knew that the heir to the Uchiha throne had commited suicide.

Her parents had awkwardly forced normality into their lives for the next few days. Perhaps they did for her or for themselves, but as she sat down at the dining table and ate with her family, she could imagine that instead of being dead, her brother, Itachi, was simply on another business trip. She would get a call at the end of the day from him, just like always, and he would tell her about how nice the people were or how it was annoying to wear a suit.

Except she never got those calls.

She felt grateful that her parents had allowed her a few days to come to terms with the news. It was not like them to be so lenient with her, but she guessed it was because they were made aware of just how overbearing they could get. Especially since it was due to their overbearing nature that led to her brother's death. Sayuri, despite wanting to, could not blame them. She knew how they were raised and she knew that they knew no other example of how to raise children.

It was surprising, even to herself, that she was able to stay rational, or perhaps she was just so mentally drained that she could not spare any energy to even cry or yell or scream.

Sayuri hoped that it was the former, but deep down, she knew it was the latter.

The funeral had been planned for a week after he died. During that week, time moved slowly. Preparations were made, calls and messages were sent out, and she was kept in the dark for almost all of it. It was strange that despite all the changes, it still felt like she was being treated the same way by everyone.

Someone to be put on a pedestal; too frail to take care of herself and too weak to handle the difficult things. She hated it, but it had never bothered her as much as it did now.

She wanted to be strong for her family, like her brother would have. If only her parents could give her a chance to make her own choices instead of forcing her to always go along with what they thought was the best for her. She loved them, she truly did, but as she had spent that whole week thinking in her room, it became clear why her brother did what he did...

The drive to the funeral had been quiet and awkward, the funeral even more so. It was a bit annoying having to see so many people that she had never met before, that she was damn sure Itachi had never met before, singing praises and 'mourning' her deceased brother. They were not there for her brother. They were there simply to keep up appearances.

She hated them. They could all go rot.

Behind those false smiles of theirs, she knew they were plotting the downfall of her parents' company. She could not blame them though. The empire business was the business of sociopaths, where the only thing that mattered was personal success. Now was the perfect time for them to try to topple her parents' company since they no longer had an heir.

Her fists were clenched tightly as she saw the last of them leave in their limousines. They were at least respectful enough to hold their facades all the way in till they disappeared from her view.

Giving the ones leaving one last look, she then turned her head back to look over at where her brother was buried. Just as she did that, a droplet of rain landed on her nose, prompting her to scrunch up her face a bit in response.

Just as that one droplet fell down from the sky, a thousand more came down and soon it began to pour down. For a few seconds, she stood there, wide-eyed in surprise before she finally closed them and reveled in the feeling of the rain falling down on her. It did not matter to her at that moment that the black clothes she wore would get drenched.

It was as if the universe was crying her own tears for her.

"Lady Sayuri, you should get out of the rain. You might catch a cold."

She turned her head to look at her butler, Kakashi. Staring quietly at him for a moment, she nodded.

He took off his jacket before walking towards her and draping it over her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he guided him to the car where her parents were already waiting for her. They were both dressed in the same style of mourning clothes as her.

Sayuri sighed quietly, "This is unnecessary."

"Not at all," replied Kakashi as he shook his head, "This is all to protect your health."

"My health is fine, Kakashi," retorted Sayuri as she shook his hands off of her and continued walking to her parents without him.

Kakashi stood there for a few seconds as he looked at Sayuri before sighing quietly and walking to the car. He would let them mourn, he figured. It would be in his and their best interest if he stayed quiet for a while.

Opening the doors for them, he waited patiently for them to get into the car before entering the front seat. Wrapping his hands around the wheel, he looked over at Sayuri's father before nodding and starting the car. No words were exchanged as they left the cemetary.

Sayuri took in a deep breath as she leaned against the window. On her side, she could still see the place where they had picked out Itachi's grave. Against her character, she mouthed a silent 'goodbye' before Itachi's grave finally went out of view.

Glancing at her mother, who was to her left, they caught the other looking at each other at the exact same time. Sayuri pursed her lips a bit before she reached over to hold her mother's hand. Her mother responded by giving it a soft squeeze and smiling. Doing her best to smile back, Sayuri turned her head back to look outside the window.

The rain was unrelenting and the only thing that she could hear besides the sound of cars driving by was the sound of the rain hitting the window. Perhaps she was wrong in her assumption that the universe was crying for her, because if it were, it would know that no true, prideful, Uchiha would cry as much as this.

Or perhaps she was just not a true, prideful, Uchiha.

She bit her bottom lip at that thought.

Through the foggy window, she watched silently as more cars and buildings began to appear as they entered the more urban part of the city. If she were to focus, she would be able to see pedestrians, walking with their umbrellas in one hand and their phones in the other. She envied them in some way. They had something to focus on. She did not.

She needed a distraction. Something. Anything. Her eyes narrowed as they passed by a restaurant.

"I'm hungry."

It had not meant to come out so sudden, but it had come out that way nonetheless. A quiet moment passed as everyone in the car took a few seconds to get out of their solemn stupor.

Mikoto was the first to speak.

"Where would you like to eat, dear?" she asked with a soft smile, prompting Sayuri to look away from the window and back at her, "There are many restaurants here or would you like Kakashi to fix you up something back at home?"

Sayuri paused briefly as she thought up her answer.

"Something warm," Sayuri answered, pursing her lips, "Something traditional."

Her mother nodded her head before looking over at Kakashi, "Do you know of anywhere that serves something like that?"

"I do," replied Kakashi, not turning his head as he answered, lest he accidentally crash into something, "Would Lord Uchiha approve if I were to pick which restaurant to go to?"

"Yes."

"Yes sir," acknowledged Kakashi before leaning forward so that he could glance at the signs before turning the car on the next intersection.

She was not even hungry, but she knew the wonderful distraction that good food provided, which was exactly what she needed at the moment. As her mind found itself on the topic of food, she found it wandering back to Itachi and the question of what their last family meal had been. For a minute or two, she wracked over it before eventually giving up as she realized that she had long forgotten.

It was discouraging to know that what was once a trivial thing had now become something so important. To think that saying about appreciating the small things now actually applied to her was humbling.

Her train of thought was interrupted as she felt the car slowly turn into a small parking lot. How long had they been driving for?

She noticed that she was still holding her mother's hand. Frowning softly, she slowly let it go as Kakashi turned off the car. Taking note of how empty and cold her hand now felt, she placed it into her lap before waiting for Kakashi to tell them it was okay to get out.

"Do you wish for me to accompany you three to the door?" asked Kakashi as he turned his head to look at his passengers.

Her father shook his head, "No. We'll figure it out ourselves."

"Ah, alright then. Please take this umbrella with you then," replied Kakashi as he reached into a compartment and handed them an umbrella.

"Thank you," said Fugaku in response before taking the umbrella and stepping out.

Sayuri followed suit, opening the car door before Kakashi could do it for her, before getting out. She then immediately walked over to her father who had already opened the umbrella. Standing beside him, Sayuri waited a little bit before her mother joined them. The umbrella was a bit too small, but they managed.

"I'll wait here while you three eat," stated Kakashi, prompting her father to nod.

"Do you want us to get something for you?" asked Mikoto warmly, offering Kakashi a small smile, her kind and soft spirit shining through the solemnity of the rain.

"I am grateful for your offer, but no thank you," answered Kakashi as he politely bowed his head in response.

Her mother's kindness made her feel a bit guilty at how rudely she had brushed Kakashi off earlier. Perhaps she should try saying something to tell him that she was not angry at him.

She cleared her throat quietly.

"Take care, Kakashi," said Sayuri, the dullness of her voice betraying the sincerity she had in those words.

Sayuri groaned inwardly at how cold she sounded. However, it seemed Kakashi got her meaning after-all because he smiled at her words.

"Thank you. I hope you take care as well, Lady Sayuri," replied Kakashi as he gave them a farewell wave.

With that said, Sayuri followed her father as he led them away from the car. The restaurant was not at all hard to find as it was surrounded by a beautiful garden. She was sure that it would have looked even more beautiful without all the rain, but it was out of her control. Maybe she would come back one day when it was not raining to admire the scenery, but it would all depend on whether or not the restaurant had good food or not.

Her father opened the door for them before they stepped in. Sayuri felt a wave of relief run over her as she felt the cold caused by the rain to slowly seep out of her due to the warmth and heat inside of the restaurant. It was not only the sudden warmth, but the wonderful smell of food that wafted through the air that immediately made her feel less moody.

"Good afternoon! Do you have a reserva-!" began Temari, smiling politely as she bowed her head, only to immediately pause as she saw who was standing in front of her.

"Good afternoon," replied Fugaku as he glanced down at the list in her hands, "I apologize, but we don't have a reservation, but if you could kindly seat us, I'll make sure to put in a good word for this restaurant."

Temari quickly recovered, "Of course. I'm sure I can arrange something."

She looked down and glossed over the list in her hand. Humming softly, her eyes widened a bit as she saw that there was still just one table left for the afternoon, which was quite strange for her and quite lucky for them.

"There's one table available, but it's close to the window. The sound of the rain might be a bit annoying," stated Temari as she looked back up at the Uchiha family.

Fugaku opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as Sayuri spoke up first.

"That's fine," replied Sayuri as she took a step forward, "I'd prefer to look outside at the garden."

She then looked up at her father, "Is that alright with you, Father?"

"Yes, it's alright," he said in response, looking down at his daughter for a moment before looking back up at Temari, "We'll take that table."

"Well then. Let me get that umbrella for you before you coem with me," replied Temari with a smile as she took the umbrella out of Fugaku's hand and got three menus out, "I'm sure your lunch will be fantastic. You'll be seated at one of our best waiter's section."

Sayuri quirked a brow as she followed her, "Oh? What's so special about him?"

Temari opened her mouth to speak before her gaze turned from Sayuri to the rest of the Uchiha family. She paused for a second as she re-worded what she had wanted to say to make it appropriate.

"Let's just say that he is an exceptionally kind individual with a passion for making people happy," answered Temari, nodding at her own words.

"I see.." remarked Sayuri quietly, her gaze turning away from Temari to the front of her coat as she brushed it straight with her hand.

She looked back up just in time to look in front of her as she rounded the corner. She quirked a brow as she saw who was she assumed was to be waiting their table. A tall, somewhat tanned, blonde-haired man with blue eyes. He looked as if he had just walked out one of those Western magazines with the gruff yet pretty men on the cover. Was he a foreigner?

"This is Naruto. He will be your server today," stated Temari as she handed Naruto the three menus.

Sayuri nodded her head, not really paying much attention to Temari's words in favour of studying the man further. There was just something off about that smile he had on his face, as if he was barely just holding on to it. For some reason, she could tell that he was forcing that smile more for himself than for them. It felt wrong, for such a warm face to hold such a forced expression. Strangely enough, she found herself a bit angered by such an expression.

She sighed inwardly in surprise at her own thoughts. It was not like her usually apathetic self to pay so much attention to someone.

"Good afternoon, I am grateful to be serving you today," greeted Naruto, bowing his head politely, "Please come with me to your table."

Her father nodded, prompting Naruto to direct them to a table by the window. As they sat down, Naruto placed down their menus in front of them before filling their cups with hot and fragrant tea.

"Would any of you like the alcohol list this afternoon?" asked Naruto as he finished filling up Sayuri's cup.

"Yes, I would," answered Mikoto, prompting Naruto to nod his head and smile.

"I'll be back as quick as I can," replied Naruto, bowing his head once more before taking off to go grab the drinks menu.

Despite herself, Sayuri found that her gaze lingered on to their server as he left. Forcing herself to look down at her menu, Sayuri glanced over it before deciding to order the most 'warming' dish on the menu: the miso poached salmon. Looking up at her parents, Sayuri cleared her throat.

"I'm going to go wash my hands," stated Sayuri quietly, prompting both Mikoto and Fugaku to look away from their menus, "May one of you please order the miso poached salmon for me?"

"Sure," replied her father with a nod.

Standing up, she around a bit as she looked around for the restroom. While this restaurant was better lit than some of the more dark and pretentious ones that she had been in before, she still found herself unable to find the restroom. Sighing quietly, she looked around for a server to give her directions. Luckily for her, Naruto quickly came into view with what appeared the drink menu that her mother had requested in hand.

"Excuse me."

Naruto paused and looked at her, "Yes? What can I do for you?"

"Could you please tell me where the restroom is?" she asked, pursing her lips a bit to hide any uneasiness at her voice at having to speak with a stranger.

"Oh, from here, you just have to go through there, turn left and then walk a few more steps before turning right," answered Naruto, gesturing with his hand a bit as he gave her directions.

Sayuri blinked, "Can you just take me there? I'm not in the mood to remember so many directions."

To her surprise, he did not seem to be taken aback by her rudeness whatsoever. Instead, he smiled, this time a bit more genuinely than he had did when he had first greeted her and her family, before nodding.

"Sure. Just come with me," replied Naruto as he gestured for her to follow her.

She nodded her head in response before she followed him.

He was a strange man for sure. Mysterious and yet still he acted like a complete open book. She was sure by now that he was, indeed, a foreigner, or at least of foreign blood. Perhaps he had been born in Japan, which might be the reason behind his Japanese name and lack of an accent. There was something odd about him though that she knew exactly the reason for.

That reason being that she was basically ogling him at this point. While it may not have been the right word, it was the only word that came to mind to describe how she had been basically staring at his back the entire way to the restroom. She figured that it had to be that forced smile of his from earlier to be the reason for her strange behavior. It was almost as if he had felt, on some level, the same way as her.

Did he also lose someone recently?

She shook her head inwardly. It was not her business to think so much for the sake of someone that did not even know.

"Here's the restroom," said Naruto as he pointed over to a door with the symbol for female on it, "If you need anything else, be sure to find me."

"Alright," replied Sayuri quietly with a nod.

She watched as he left to go back to deliver the menu to her mother before stepping into the restroom. Once inside, she immediately walked over to the sink and began washing her hands. It did not matter that the water was cold as all she needed to do at the moment was wash off this oily feeling from her hands. Despite her father being a complete germaphobe, she never really did buy into that washing the hands for two minutes in hot water scare.

Looking up at herself in the mirror, Sayuri made a disapproving sound at the sight of her jet-black hair, now made frizzy after drying from the rain. Sighing quietly, she pulled out a hairband before tying her exceptionally long hair into a simple ponytail. She always did like having her hair up more, but business meetings always had her let her hair down to emphasize her beauty.

Why she would need to emphasize anything in front of her father's lecherous guests, she did not know and she did not want to know.

Flattening out the front of her coat one last time, she turned to leave. Making her way outside of the restroom, she turned her head in the direction of where her table was. She turned her head just in time to catch Naruto's surprised expression as he bumped into her, sending the both of them on to the floor.

"Woa-!"

"Hu-?!"

The both of them tumbled downward, him stumbling back on to his rear and her being knocked on to her side. If one were to watch what happened, they would see a tall, wide-shouldered blonde walk into a pale and slender woman and send her flying. For Naruto, it would have been quite the funny scene if it were not him being the one to bump into someone. Sadly, that was not the case.

Within seconds, Naruto was immediately back up, the surprised expression he had a moment earlier having been replaced into a concerned one the moment he realized that he had bumped into someone. What made matters worse was that he had just bumped into the daughter of the owners of one of the most powerful companies in all of Japan.

"Are you alright?" asked Naruto, his lips curving downward into a worried frown as he extended a helpful hand down to her.

She groaned in response, her eyes scrunching a bit as she tried to process what had just happened to her.

"Well then," remarked Sayuri quietly, forcing her eyes open as she slowly leaned upward, only to stop as Naruto's hand came into view.

Naruto did his best to offer Sayuri the most apologetic smile that he could muster. He must have been doing something wrong though, because instead of accepting his hand immediately, Sayuri turned her head down. Crap. Did he accidentally hurt her worse than he first thought he did?

He cleared his throat, "Umm.. Sayuri was it..? Are you alright?"

"Yes.. I'm fine," replied Sayuri after a few seconds of silence, her breath hitching a bit as she reached forward to grab his hand so that he could help her up.

Helping her up, Naruto nodded his head and smiled at her before immediately bowing as low as he could without looking stupid.

"I apologize for bumping into you."

"It's fine," replied Sayuri, holding back a smirk as she waved a hand dismissively at him, "It's not like either of us could have prevented that from happening."

"Please, if there is anything I can do for you, I'll do it," said Naruto quickly in response, keeping his head bowed.

Sayuri opened her mouth to say no, but closed it as she figured that she might as well make the best of his offer. She hummed softly as she stood over Naruto, her hand unconsciously raising to support her chin as she thought what was best to ask of him. It did not take her that long. She only had one question that she wanted to ask him after-all.

 _Why is your smile so sad?_

Once again, she opened her mouth just to close it.

"No, it's fine," stated Sayuri, inwardly groaning at her own cowardice.

She paused for a second before continuing, "I'm going to head back to my table."

"S-Sure," he stammered in response as he stepped to the side to allow her to pass before heading off in the other direction.

As she walked back to her table, Sayuri once again had to flatten the front of her coat and re-straightened her hair. While she may have looked a bit ruffled up on the outside, she was even more so on the inside. It was not like her at all to hold back her words. Just where had her spine ran off to?

Sighing quietly, Sayuri rounded the corner and arrived back at her table.

"What took you so long, Sayuri?" asked Mikoto, finishing her question off by sipping from what appeared to be a cup filled with sake.

"It took me a while to find my hairband," lied Sayuri, breathing deeply in mild annoyance before sitting back down in her seat, "Did you order yet?"

Her mother nodded, "We did."

"Good," replied Sayuri, the corner of her lips curving upward into a subtle smile, "I'm starving."

Just a few minutes after she said that, Naruto came back with the dishes that they had ordered. It seemed that her parents had forgoed the appetizer in favour of having just a quick entree. Both of her parents had ordered the mackeral whilst she had ordered the salmon. Watching him place down the dishes in front of them, Sayuri took note of the smile that Naruto now had on his face was a bit less forced than the one that he had when he had first greeted them.

It made her feel just a bit tingly on the inside at the possibility that she may have been the reason for his slight boost in happiness.

"I hope you all enjoy," said Naruto enthusiastically, his smile widening just a bit before he pulled out a letter and slid it towards her.

Sayuri quirked a brow at his actions.

Nodding his head, Naruto took off before anyone at the table could ask him about the letter.

Looking down at the letter, Sayuri took note of its simple and unassuming appearance before sliding it into her coat pocket. As she did so, she could feel her parents stare at her curiously. Huffing quietly, she ignored their gaze in favour of taking in the beautiful dish that was her lunch. Picking up a spoon, along with a pair of chopsticks, she began to eat.

It was good. Despite how fancy it was, it filled her with this warm feeling that one usually got from eating home cooking or something nostalgic. She was right to have ordered this. It was exactly what she needed. Something filling and warm to wash away the emptiness and cold. As she ate, she could not help but wonder if Naruto would also feel better if he got to eat something like this.

Perhaps it was the good food, but at that moment, she did not care how odd that thought was.

The rest of the meal went by quietly, the only noise being the sound of the rain pitter-pattering against the window and the soft footsteps of the servers as more and more diners arrived. She needed more moments like this, where she could just enjoy herself some peace without needing to worry about what had to come next. Maybe she could come back every once in a while during better times.

For now though, she would ignore those thoughts and just focus on enjoying herself...

"Thank you for coming!"

Saying their own farewells at Temari, Sayuri followed her father and mother as they left through the door. Just as the door began to close behind her, Sayuri turned her head to look back into the restaurant. Just as she did that, she was able to catch a glimpse of Naruto as he was talking to another group. There it was again. That forced smile of his. It ticked her off a bit just seeing it.

Then he looked up and his gaze turned to her. She should have felt embarrassment at being caught staring, but for some reason, she did not. As they looked at each other, Naruto's smile seem to uplift itself for brief moment. Unconsciously, her hand patted the pocket where she had his letter before she turned to leave.

She would read the letter when she got home.

She had a feeling that whatever was in it would help cheer up even further.

And that it would probably have to do something with Naruto.

That thought brought forth a soft warmth inside of her chest.

She wondered...

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 **A/N: Thank you for reading chapter two of Mismatched Fragments! I hope you all enjoyed! I'm still kind of getting use to writing something like this, so I hope I didn't mess up. I honestly should get myself a beta. Please favourite, follow and review! I love feedback!**


	3. A Return Trip

**A/N: Welcome back once again folks to another chapter of Mismatched Fragments. Honestly, writing is hard. It has been a long time since I've written chapters as long as the ones in this story and I am starting to wonder whether or not I regret that. Oh well. In this chapter, you can all find out what the heck Naruto wrote to Sayuri right in the first paragraph. Prepare yourselves for relationships to be revealed and created. I hope you all enjoy.**

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 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of these characters. I wrote this fanfic for fun!**

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 **Mismatched Fragments**

 **By Yangster**

 **Chapter #3: A Return Trip**

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 _I am so sorry for bumping into you, especially during such a hard time for you and your family. I hope that you do not see my inability to watch where I am going as a detriment to the restaurant. I also hope that pun I slipped in was not too terrible. Okay, even I will admit that was a terrible pun. Well, at this point I am sort of just rambling on to a piece of paper, so I will try to start being concise. It was a pleasure serving you and your family, so please do come back to the restaurant, and please do accept my heartfelt apology for bumping into you._

 _Signed, Naruto Uzumaki_

 _P.S. If you enjoyed the salmon, please make sure to come back before spring ends! It is a seasonal item after-all!_

Sayuri read over the letter for what seemed to be the dozenth time that day. It was crumpled a bit now from her frequent unfolding and re-folding, but it still read the same for her as it did the first time. What he had written was comforting and provided a much needed distraction from the long and awkward silences that now filled her day. It helped her to also keep calm in the face of the upcoming storm that she knew was going to happen once her parents had reorganized things.

Sighing quietly, she flicked the letter back straight and reread it. At first glance, it looked as if it had came out of the monologue of some dumb kid's movie, but the words he wrote down felt genuine, and that was what she really got from his writing.

The ironic thing about the whole letter was, despite how childish it sounded, the handwriting was exceptional.

The corner of her lips twitched upward into a subtle smirk at the thought.

Narrowing her eyes as she heard a set of footsteps outside her room, she tucked Naruto's letter underneath herself before returning to what she had been doing before. Placing the tips of her fingers back down on to the piano before her, she played a few soft notes before continuing on her daily practices. She would have liked to have said that she was the best in the family, but then she would be lying. Her mother was much more talented than she was.

She stopped playing again as she heard someone knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Kakashi stepped in.

"I've come with your morning snack," stated Kakashi, bowing gracefully at the door, a plate with a single serving of mont blanc in hand.

Sayuri turned her head to look at him. "Please put it on my table."

"Alright," replied Kakashi with a nod before he proceeded to walk over and place the snack, along with a fork on her desk.

He then turned around to look at her. "If I may remark on something, Lady Sayuri..."

"Hm?" she hummed inquisitively. "What is it?"

"If it would provide a boost to your mood, I must say, your piano playing skills have increased dramatically over this past week," answered Kakashi, providing her with a head-tilt and a smile.

She snorted. "Yes, well, I am bound to improve on the things I put in practice for."

"Yes, as true as that is, I meant something a bit different," replied Kakashi, prompting Sayuri to quirk a brow. "There's something deeper to it. Might I say that you've started putting in a bit more emotion into your playing?"

"A keen observation," remarked Sayuri, her lips pursing as she paused. "Though I didn't give you permission to dive any deeper than just that first compliment."

His smile did not falter. "My deepest apologies, Lady Sayuri."

"Hm," she grunted in response.

There was a moment of silence.

"Is there anything else you need?" asked Kakashi, his head tilting to the other side, his one visible eye blinking a few times at her.

She hummed softly, raising a hand to rub her cheek with her thumb as she took a moment to think up her response. There was one thing that she wanted to do, but she was not so sure that her parents would allow it. Though then again, her parents were much too busy right now to notice her absence for just a few hours, right?

After a moment she spoke up. "Do you remember that restaurant my family and I ate at after the funeral?"

"I do," replied Kakashi with a nod. "Would you like for me to make a reservation there?"

"Yes. See if they can fit me in at lunch and if not, try for dinner," said Sayuri in response, looking back down at the piano keys for a few seconds as she brushed a few of them with her fingers.

"Just you, Lady Sayuri?" asked Kakashi, quirking a brow.

She nodded. "Just me."

"I see. Very well, Lady Sayuri," acknowledged Kakashi with a bow before he headed towards the door. "I'll make the call at once."

"Wait."

He turned his head. "Yes, Lady Sayuri?"

"Try getting me fitted at a table by the windows," she replied, gesturing lazily with her hand. "I wish to dine whilst looking out at the garden, this time when it's not covered in rain."

"Very well," stated Kakashi, nodding his head.

With that said, he left through the door before closing it, leaving her once again alone in her room.

For a few seconds, she looked over at the door before turning her attention over to the mont blanc that Kakashi had made for her. Sliding off her seat, she put back on her slippers before making her way to her desk. Lifting the plate up, she walked overed to her bed. She knew that if her parents found out that she had decided to eat on the super expensive bed they bought, they would flip. Good thing she was a clean eater and that she did not particularly care.

Sitting down on to her bed, she placed the plate into her lap before using the fork to cut off a piece and placing said piece of mont blanc into her mouth.

It was good. The chestnut puree was lightly sweet, which was perfect for her since she was never really a fan of anything too sugary. It seemed that Kakashi had also added a pinch of matcha powder into the puree, making what would have been a light-brown dessert mountain into a more reserved, lightly green hill. Underneath all of it was a small, fluffy, cake.

Kakashi always did pride himself in his dessert making skills. Behind that masked facade of his was a baker at heart, she was sure of it.

Slipping her feet out of her slippers, she flung her legs up on to the bed before scooting back so that she could lean against the headboard. Sighingly quietly, she took another bite of mont blanc before turning her gaze over to the large mirror by her dresser. How strange she felt, eating such a girly dessert in what she presumed to be girly clothes. It did not feel like her at all.

Honestly, what she would give to own something that was not a skirt or a dress. Though, she guessed that it might have been her fault since she always let her mother pick out her outfits.

She licked her fork, her eyes narrowing a bit as the topic of outfits came into mind. It would not do well for her family's image if she were to appear in public alone, even though she was already old enough to be able to conduct her own business without her parents' permission. She wanted to avoid the stereotype, however, that the famous who wish to hide all wear scarves and sunglasses. It would have been stupid to wear sunglasses, especially in the current weather.

Placing the half-finished mont blanc on to her nightstand, she slid off her bed before walking over to her dresser. Opening it up, she hummed softly as she looked down at the myriad of perfectly folded pieces of clothing. She liked plain colours or no colours at all. White and black and perhaps some grey was the way she liked things.

Sadly, her mother was the opposite and loved stuffing her into blue dresses or red blouses.

It was even more sad that the only articles of clothing that she owned in her preferred plain colours were not ones that she would just regularly wear. Oh well, she thought. At least it was not as scandalous as the outfits she had to wear in front of her father's disgusting guests.

Stripping off what she had been wearing, she pulled out a simple, dark-grey turtle neck and a pair of black leggings. As she stood in front of her mirror, she felt herself smirk a bit at her own appearance. Even in the most casual of clothes, she still looked wonderful. While she may not have been as vain as her mother, she still took great pride in her beauty. With her pale skin and silky, long jet-black hair, she would have made for quite the beautiful, traditional bride if she tried to.

Hah. That was a laughable idea. If she ever married, she would make sure she held the power in the relationship.

Patting the turtleneck down to flatten it against her chest and stomach, she swiveled a bit and took a moment to admire her profile. To most, she was this quiet porcelain doll, with the personality of that of a humble shrine maiden. If only they knew how haughty and prideful she was when she was all alone. It was only Kakashi and Itachi that knew this side of her. In her parents' mind, she was still their perfect girl.

Her lips pursed a bit as the topic of Itachi once again entered her mind. Unlike her, he was actually a perfect child. He was humble, genuine and despite the intimidating gaze of his red eyes, he would always be able to get people to warm up to him. He made her feel comfortable with herself, the self that she never showed to her parents. Sometimes she hated herself for not going out of her way to speak with him more. She had always thought that she would have plenty of time...

She swallowed quietly and her gaze trailed away from the mirror over towards the wall, in the direction of where Itachi's room was. Sayuri wondered what her parents would do with it. Perhaps it would be converted into a shrine for her late older brother, or maybe even just kept as is.

Sighing quietly, she raised a hand and rubbed her forehead in an attempt to clear her mind.

Waltzing back over to her bed, she sat down once more and finished the rest of her mont blanc before leaving the empty plate on the nightstand. She would let Kakashi take it away later. Kakashi would have phoned in by now and made the reservation for her. She was not worried at all about not getting a table. She was an Uchiha after-all. Just her family name was able to get her into the most elegant of places, she was sure that the restaurant that Naruto worked in would be no different.

Glancing over at her clock, she smiled a bit in anticipation. It was almost lunch. Her wait would not be long...

As she had predicted, not an hour later, Kakashi knocked at her door once more. By then, she had already finished the rest of her outfit by tying her hair back into a ponytail and replacing her contacts with a pair of black, round and rectangular glasses.

"Come in," she stated, straightening her posture a bit as she sat on her bed.

The door opened in response to her words and in walked Kakashi.

"Well?"

"I got you fitted in during lunch at a table by the windows," answered Kakashi with a polite bow. "If you would come with me, I can drive you there."

Nodding her head, she stood up. "Alright."

Following Kakashi through the halls of her parents' modern mansion, Sayuri glanced outside through the windows at their garden. It was a more modern garden, just like the building, with lines of delicately cut shrubbery and well-maintained trees. Her parents' loved its western aesthetic, but personally, she found it a bit lacking in spirit.

She much preferred the more traditional garden at the restaurant that Naruto worked in, with its wonderfully arranged bamboo and vibrant colours. Today was a lot sunnier than it was a week ago and she hoped it stayed that way. Carrying an umbrella was annoying and she much preferred warm weather.

"Since it will only be the two of us, I shall forgo anything too... Posh," stated Kakashi as he opened the door to the garage. "Unless you want me to, Lady Sayuri."

"Pick the one you would wish to drive," replied Sayuri with a shrug. "The interiors are all leather anyways. I could care less what it looks like on the outside."

"Oh?" let out Kakashi, quirking a brow.

"Oh what?" asked Sayuri, her eyes narrowing as she crossed her arms.

He looked at her for a moment before smiling and shaking his head. "Nothing. Nothing at all, Lady Sayuri."

"Hmph," she grunted quietly, her posture tightening up a bit as she watched Kakashi walk over to where they kept the keys.

The most prized car that they had in the garage was the Lexus LFA Nurburgring, but if one were to ask for her opinion of it, she would have said that it had the ugliest name out of all of the ones that they owned. Not only was the name ugly, but she found that its aesthetics were also quite unappealing. At least to her they were.

Father was addicted to fast things though, so she would not bother him about it.

Her eyes narrowed a bit as Kakashi's hand hovered over the keys to her father's prized car. Though she immediately unnarrowed them as they moved past it to another set of keys, belonging to the dark-blue Lexus LS that they owned. She liked that car much more because of its appearance. Honestly, if anyone asked her about how cars worked, she would be at a complete loss.

She would never admit that though.

Good thing no one ever asked her about cars.

If they did, she would just repeat a bunch of jargon that she heard from her father.

"Would you like to sit in front or the back, Lady Sayuri?"

"The front," she answered, uncrossing her arms and walking over to the car.

Looking down at the hood of it, the corner of her lips curved upward into a smirk as she saw a darkened reflection of herself on it. To think that Kakashi was the one responsible for polishing all the vehicles that they owned. She bet that underneath those gloves of his, he had mechanical hands to replace his natural ones due to all the manual labour that he had to do for her family.

She raised a hand and traced it along the edge of hood, prompting Kakashi to sign quietly.

"What?" asked Sayuri, turning her attention towards Kakashi.

"If you are done admiring yourself, Lady Sayuri, we can get going," replied Kakashi, his singular eye scrunched up, a hint to the sarcastic smile he had underneath his mask.

She snorted. "Yes, well. Let's go then."

He bowed his head before moving over to open the door to the passenger seat. "Climb in."

Nodding her head, she complied and slipped into the car. With her petite frame, the seat was just a bit too big for her, but she did not mind. It was nice to know that if she wanted to tuck her legs in and sit in a more obscene manner, she could. Though, despite knowing, she hardly ever got a chance to, mainly because of her parents, specifically her father.

It was ironic how he could be so protective of her when he was almost the complete opposite with himself.

The car shifted a bit as Kakashi got in, prompting Sayuri to turn her head to look at him.

"For such a lithe man, you sure do carry a lot of weight," she remarked, smirking at him.

Kakashi let out an amused hum.

"I assure you, Lady Sayuri, that it is all muscle," replied Kakashi, to which Sayuri chuckled quietly.

Her smirked slowly transformed into a small, genuine smile. "You are much more casual without my parents around."

"I could say the same for you, Lady Sayuri," he retorted, returning the smile before he started the car.

"Yes, well, it's quite hard to be 'casual'," began Sayuri, raising her hands and doing the air quotations gesture before continuing. "When one's parents are as strict as mine."

She paused for a moment before letting out a long, drawn out, sigh. "Honestly, I can see why Itachi did what he did. It gets too hard sometimes."

"It is not my place to remark on such controversial matters as a butler of the Uchiha family," replied Kakashi, his hands firmly on the wheel as he watched the garage doors open.

Sayuri snorted softly. "You only say that when the topic makes you uncomfortable."

"I do," admitted Kakashi, exhaling quietly as he began to drive the car on to the road.

"I see..." said Sayuri in response, dragging out the last syllable for a few seconds as she turned her head to look out the window.

A few moments of silence passed by as Kakashi drove towards the restaurant. Sayuri watched as her view became more and more urban, a sign that they were once again entering the city. She liked the city, with its sounds and how it seemed that everyone in it had a purpose. From her perspective, urban life looked a lot more exciting than it was being put on a pedestal and confined to her parents' mansion.

Luckily for her, Kakashi was willing to sneak her out sometimes.

"Was the food that good?" asked Kakashi suddenly, prompting her to look at him from the corner of her eye. "You do not usually sneak out just to eat somewhere."

She shrugged her shoulders. "It was."

"Ah. I see," replied Kakashi with a smile. "Not better than the food I make though, right?"

Sayuri suppressed a snort. It was always obvious when Kakashi wanted to be complimented.

"No one can beat your desserts, Kakashi, but your other dishes, despite being good, still leave something to be desired," answered Sayuri, smirking a bit as she saw Kakashi's ego visibly deflate.

"I will gratefully take in all the constructive criticism that you are willing to give me, Lady Sayuri," said Kakashi in response as he stopped at a light.

"I've none to give right now," stated Sayuri, eliciting a slight twitch in Kakashi's brow.

Kakashi forced a smile. "Most unfortunate. I would have loved to have been able to make you and the family better quality food."

"Maybe I'll have some later," replied Sayuri, sighing quietly as she turned her gaze back to the window.

The car started again as the light turned green.

"I look forward to it."

Another moment of silence passed as the two continued their way towards the restaurant, during which Sayuri spent the entire time staring outside the window. Despite just being a window, it was like a portal to the rest of Japan for her. A world where businessmen walked by cafes run by women in maid outfits and cat ears. It was both strange and interesting; the women in maid outfits and cat ears more so than the businessmen.

Honestly, when the heck did that stuff get popular?

Perhaps that was what her parents wanted to protect her from...

"So how did you know about the restaurant?" asked Sayuri, her sudden question prompting Kakashi to quirk a brow and give her a quick glance.

"I've eaten there before," he answered with a shrug.

She felt her eyebrows raise. "Oh? Really? I don't think you would have the time to eat there."

"Not at the usual hours, no," was his reply.

"How?"

"I've a family friend that works there," answered Kakashi, glancing up over at the rearview mirror for a second before looking back down in front of him. "He got to bring a friend in after hours as part of some sort of staff celebration and he chose me."

"He works at the restaurant, huh?" replied Sayuri, her attention towards him growing as he piqued his curiosity. "What's his name?"

Kakashi turned his head to look at her, his expression tightening a bit as he pursed his lips.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"I see," replied Sayuri, the nonchalantness in her voice betraying the surprise that she felt. "Does he work in the kitchen?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, he's a server."

"Just like you, huh?" remarked Sayuri with a smirk.

"I would like to think that I'm a bit more experienced, but sure," agreed Kakashi jokingly in response.

Sayuri offered a polite chuckle before replying. "So what does he look like, huh?"

"I am sure that you have seen him when you ate there before. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Looks like a complete brat," answered Kakashi, snorting softly at his own words at the part where he called Naruto a brat.

"I'm sure he isn't that bad."

"Maybe not," replied Kakashi with a shrug. "If he were a complete brat, I doubt he would have been able to last in a relationship long enough to propose to her."

Sayuri blinked.

"I wonder what happened.. I haven't heard from him in a few days..." murmured Kakashi quietly to himself. "I wonder if it went well.."

"Best of luck to him," said Sayuri, sighing quietly as she turned her attentiom back to the window once more."

Kakashi nodded. "Mhm."

They droved for a few more minutes in till Kakashi rolled into the driveway of the restaurant. Finding a parking space was easy enough, considering that the restaurant had its own parking lot with just more than enough spots for their diners and staff.

"We're here," stated Kakashi, turning his head to look at her as he stopped the car.

"Are you going to stay here and wait for me?" she asked, her gaze turning from the window towards him.

He shrugged. "I'll wait here for you."

"Alright," replied Sayuri with a nod as she got out of the car. "Take care."

"I'll see you later."

Nodding once more, she walked off towards the restaurant. The front of it looked much more elegant than it had before now that it was not being pelted by the rain from a week earlier. She allowed herself a brief moment to admire it before opening one of the two doors at the front and walking in.

"Good afternoon!" greeted the woman at the front desk with a polite bow.

Sayuri took note that the woman's dirty-blonde hair was as frizzy as ever. What was her name again?

Her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked at her nametag. Temari.

"Afternoon," replied Sayuri, offering a half-hearted wave before continuing. "I have a reservation under Sayuri."

"Ah, yes," said Temari with a smile. "I'll have you seated at once."

She nodded her head in response, prompting Temari to quickly take out a menu from within her desk. With graceful steps, Temari then walked out from behind her desk and gestured for Sayuri to follow her.

"Right this way."

Sayuri nodded once more. "Alright."

Following Temari, Sayuri glanced around for Naruto. She would never admit to herself that she was actively seeking him out, but deep down, she knew. The food, while good, was only partly the reason for her dining at the restaurant a second time. She just really wanted to have a chance to respond to the letter that he had given her.

"Hmm," hummed Temari quietly. "I'm sure Naruto is here some-!"

Temari was interrupted as they rounded the corner at the exact same time that Naruto did. The sound of shuffling feet quickly filled the room, followed up by several yelps of surprise as Naruto swiveled wildly to avoid pouring the dishes that he had been carrying all over Temari and Sayuri. It was an amazing display of acrobatics, truly, but at that moment, Sayuri was too afraid of having hot food splashed all over her to really pay attention.

She would never admit it, but she was actually the one that yelped.

"Woah! Sorry, Temari!" apologized Naruto, chuckling nervously as he shifted his grip on the tray that he was holding into a more comfortable position, only to stop chuckling as his gaze turned to Sayuri. "Oh. Apologies to you too. That was pretty lucky, huh?"

Sayuri re-adjusted her glasses. "Good thing you did not bump into me a second time."

"Oh, yeah. That would have been just awful," he replied, offering Sayuri an apologetic smile. "Welcome back, by the way. Also, nice glasses. You're here for the salmon dish again, right?"

"Among other things," answered Sayuri vaguely with a shrug, glancing away in slight embarrassment from his casual compliment.

"Well, disaster avoided," stated Temari with a relieved sigh before she slipped the menu into the crook of Naruto's arm. "Here. When you're done with those dishes, make sure to get her seated."

"Okay," replied Naruto, nodding at Temari before looking back at Sayuri. "Would you be alright waiting, or would you like to follow me?"

To her pleasant surprise, it seemed that Naruto's mood had improved a little during the week. While the tone of his voice may have become more light-hearted and casual, his smile never seemed to reach his eyes. For a second, Sayuri thought back to the talk that she had with Kakashi back in the car. Was his proposal rejected? Was that the reason for Naruto's sadness?

She shrugged. "I'll follow."

"Alright then," said Naruto in response, nodding his head once more before looking over at Temari. "I'll handle it from here."

"Take care, Naruto," replied Temari, offering him a quick smile before she turned to go back to her station, leaving Naruto and Sayuri standing in the middle of the dining hall.

Naruto looked at Sayuri. "I better get these dishes to their table before they get cold."

"Good idea," stated Sayuri plainly, shoving her hands into the pockets of her turtle-neck.

As the two walked around the dining room, Sayuri could not help but notice just how much Naruto was carrying. Besides the menu that he had tucked underneath his arm, he was carrying two trays stacked high with food and drink. She had no idea how heavy something like that would be, but it was still impressive, considering that Naruto did not seem to be hindered at all by how much he was carrying.

He walked fast and gracefully, which made the trip to the table that he was tending to end in no time. There, at the table, Sayuri took note of the diners that Naruto was serving. A group of four business men, dressed in fairly expensive suits, each one with their hair slicked back with far too much hair-gel. Her opinion of them was that they looked like a bunch of creepy, old men.

"Here you go!" exclaimed Naruto as he bent forward a bit to place the dishes on to the table, followed up by four saucers and a bottle of sake. "I hope you all enjoy."

They muttered their thank yous before waving him off.

"Alright, let's get you seated," stated Naruto, offering her a small smile as he turned his head to look at her.

Sayuri nodded. "Alright."

"I'm actually glad that you came back," admitted Naruto as he guided her to an empty table by the window.

"Oh?" asked Sayuri, quirking a brow as she sat down.

He nodded his head as he placed the menu in front of her. "Yeah. I always get a bit worried whenever someone comes into the restaurant in a bad mood or after something bad happened. Sort of puts me at peace to know that they're doing better after a while, ya know?"

"No. Not really," she said with a shrug.

She then smirked. "Though, don't you think it is a bit strange to worry for strangers?"

"Not at all," said Naruto in response, the corner of his lips curving upward into a genuine, albeit small, smile.

"You're too sympathetic," remarked Sayuri, lazily raising a hand to rest her chin on it.

He shrugged. "Maybe so, but that won't stop me from doing my best to make everyone happy."

Sayuri looked at him for a moment. She hid the slight warmth she felt at his words by forcing a bored expression. Honestly, this guy must have been older than her. How could he still be living in fantasy land?

"So, Sayuri," began Naruto, emphasizing her name by pausing briefly. "May I interest you in the alcohol list?"

"Trying to get me drunk already, huh?" asked Sayuri sarcastically with a snort.

Naruto shook his head. "Not at all. The drinks we serve can all be sipped on in moderation."

"Hmm," she hummed softly, "What would you recommend then?"

"To go with the salmon?"

She nodded.

"Have you ever had hot sake before?" asked Naruto, tilting his head a bit to the side, just enough to allow for a few locks of blonde hair to droop in front of one of his eyes.

Sayuri licked her lips. "No. Have you?"

"Mhm, I have," hummed Naruto in response. "Nothing better to soothe the soul than some nice, hot sake and some warm broth."

"That sounds good," said Sayuri, glancing down at the menu for a moment before looking back up at Naruto. "I'll have the salmon like last time and I'd like a flask of hot sake of your choosing."

"Alright!" replied Naruto before bowing. "I'll get you your drink as quick as I can."

With that said, he took the menu and walked off, leaving her alone at her table. Her eyes followed his back as he left before she turned her gaze to the window once he was out of view.

She was right, like always. The view was much more beautiful than it had been before. Whilst it was still just a little cloudy, at least this time her view was not obstructed by a heavy cascade of rain. Now that she could see it all clearly, she was able to better enjoy the wonderfully green bamboo and the myriad of different plants.

As she admired the view, she wondered why the restaurant had not tables set up outside.

Sayuri turned her head back towards her left as she heard Naruto's footsteps.

"Hot sake," stated Naruto, offering Sayuri a polite bow before placing the flask along with a saucer in front of her. "I hope you enjoy."

"Alright," she said, nodding her head, before pausing. "I've never had sake before."

"It's good," replied Naruto before he extended a hand towards the flask. "Mind if I pour some for you?"

She shrugged. "Not at all."

Smiling softly, Naruto reached over with both hands before picking up the bottle of sake. His movements were slow and controlled, with just a bit of flourish near the end as he delicately poured her a single serving of sake into her saucer. For some reason, Sayuri could not help but to compare him to that of the traditional housewife at that moment. Perhaps if his hair was longer and his jaw was less chiseled and defined, it would have made for a more convincing comparison.

"What I usually do when I drink sake is I take a moment to take in its aroma," explained Naruto as he slid the saucer in front of her. "My grandpa taught me that."

"Your grandpa, huh?" replied Sayuri, blinking a few times as her glasses became foggy due to the hot sake.

He nodded. "Mhm. He was a big drinker. Him and grandma."

"Are you also a big drinker?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. I'm more of a social drinker. I don't ever drink without friends."

"Would you consider me a friend?" she asked as she slowly pinched her fingers around the rim of the saucer.

"Sure," he answered without hesitation, his smile widening in till it caused the corner of his eyes to crinkle up a bit.

Sayuri wondered if she was special or if pretty much anyone was able to cheer Naruto up. It would do better for her self-esteem and pride if she believed in the former.

"Then why don't you share a drink with me then?" offered Sayuri, tilting her head slightly as she smiled softly.

Naruto let out a quiet chuckle as he raised a hand to scratch the back of his head.

"Well, I don't know about that, Sayuri. It'd be a bad idea to get drunk on the job, right?"

"Didn't you just say that this restaurant served drinks that can be enjoyed in moderation?" she retorted, her soft smile slowly turning into a smirk. "Or did I mishear that?"

He smiled. "Looks like you got me there, Sayuri. Sure. I'll share a drink with you, as long as my boss permits me to, of course."

"Just drop my family name and they'll beg you to have a drink with me," replied Sayuri with a shrug.

"But that would be unfair to the other diners, Sayuri."

She huffed. "So?"

"I like to be as fair as possible," he responded, shrugging his shoulders a bit.

Sayuri snorted. "The world isn't fair."

"Might as well make it as fair as possible then, right?"

"Fine," said Sayuri reluctantly with a sigh. "Go. Before the sake gets cold."

Naruto nodded his head. "I'll be quick."

"You'd better.." murmured Sayuri in response, sighing once more as she watched him leave.

True to his word, Naruto did indeed return quickly. It had only taken him a minute to rush over to the kitchen and rush back with a saucer of his own in hand. Upon seeing his return, Sayuri quirked a brow, and awaited his answer.

"Well?"

He gave her a thumbs up. "Just one drink. I can't work while being tipsy."

"Sounds good," she replied, slowly pushing the flask of still hot sake over to the other side of the table. "Do I pour for you or do you pour for yourself since you are the server?"

"I'll pour for myself," answered Naruto, offering her a smile.

She shook her head. "No. Since you poured for me, I should pour for you."

"Oh. Alright," he replied, blinking a few times.

Nodding her head, she picked up the flask of sake with both hands, just like Naruto had, before slowly hovering it over Naruto's saucer. While she may not have been as graceful in her movements, she managed to pour his drink decently. She knew that she looked awkward for sure. Hopefully she did not have a stupid look of embarrassment on her face.

"Do you usually do these kinds of things or am I just special?" asked Naruto, prompting Sayuri to look up at him.

She shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to look casual. "Consider yourself special. I only usually do these things when I am forced to by my parents."

"Well then," began Naruto, his smile widening into a toothsome grin. "To think that I'll have a member of the famous Uchiha family pouring me a drink today. I'm either the most special guy in the world right now or I'm dreaming!"

Sayuri found herself returning the smile. "I'd pinch you, but I don't touch people I just met."

"Aww, come on. At this point we've known each other for a solid twenty minutes. A week on top of that if you count that day I gave you the letter," teased Naruto as he picked up the saucer.

"We haven't even introduced ourselves to eachother," reminded Sayuri, her cheeks flushing a bit upon hearing him mention the letter. "Sure, we know each other's name through hearing other people saying it, but we're sort of still complete strangers."

He hummed softly a bit. "Hmm, I guess you're right."

Naruto then cleared his throat.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Pleased to meet you!" exclaimed Naruto, as he raised his saucer.

She snorted at his enthusiasm as she did the same. "Sayuri Uchiha."

With that said, she moved her hand forward to lightly tap Naruto's saucer with her own. With no words exchanged, they both then proceeded to tip their saucers back and drink.

It tasted a bit fruity and its warmth immediately spread throughout her body. The only thing she could really compare it to was the sensation one got when they climbed into a warm bed on an exceptionally cold day. She had not even noticed that she had been staring into her empty saucer for what had to be at least ten seconds in till she let out a hiccup.

She raised a hand to cover her mouth as she blushed.

"You didn't hear that," said Sayuri, narrowing her eyes a bit as she saw Naruto's lips curve upward into a small smile.

"Oh, but I did," replied Naruto, chuckling quietly as Sayuri began to glare at him.

"You know who you're talking to right?" she asked as she slowly lowered her hand.

Naruto nodded, his smile widening a bit. "I do. I don't care though. Everyone deserves to get teased every now and again."

Huh. She had not been thinking about it, but now that Naruto had brought it up, she could not help but wonder. Was this what it was like to be treated like a normal person?

It was a comforting thought: to be treated like everyone else. Compared to the ways that she was treated as the sole daughter to the Uchiha family, it was refreshing to be able to just hold a normal conversation without worrying about either being treated like a fragile doll or as a target for envy. Not even Kakashi was innocent of the former, as despite the casualness that he showed when they were alone, he still dodged sensitive topics and refused to just call her by her first name.

Only Naruto was ballsy enough to talk to her like an actual person.

Sayuri sighed inwardly. She needed conversations like this more often, she figured. Clearing her throat quietly, she decided to speak.

"Say... Naruto," began Sayuri, rubbing her thumb against the rim of her saucer as she tried her best to not sound hesitant or embarrassed. "Would you be opposed to me coming to this restaurant more often?"

He shook his head. "Not at all, Sayuri. I'd be glad to see you around more.

She looked up at him and nodded.

"Good."

She then smiled.

"You'll be seeing a lot more from me from now on."

Naruto returned the smile.

"I look forward to it."

He then gestured over to the flask.

"More sake?"

She snorted softly. Her smile remained.

"Sure."

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 **A/N: Holy moly. That took a long time to write. I don't know why, but the more I write this story, the easier the dialogue just starts to flow. I'm actually kind of afraid I spent too much time on the dialogue in some places. Oh well. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please favourite, follow and review! I love feedback!**


	4. An Awkward Revisit

**A/N: How are you all doing people!? I'm doing alright, I guess. Welcome back to another chapter of Mismatched Chapters, where we will dive right into the story after a few short messages. Those messages being I hope you enjoy and I hope you all have a good day.**

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 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of these characters.**

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 **Mismatched Fragments**

 **By Yangster**

 **Chapter #4: An Awkward Visit**

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It was the sound of his alarm clock blaring that woke him up.

A whole hour earlier as well than the usual time he would wake up. The reason for why he was waking up this early?

Well...

She was coming back. To pick up her stuff.

While he was normally a morning person, he found himself hating the act of waking up more and more after that day a few weeks ago. Nothing was that different, at least not physically. It was just that he felt a bit more sore and a bit more tired than usual. He was sure that he was just in a funk and that in time, he would be able to get back to his normal routine without having to force every action as if his body was being weighed down with lead.

He groaned loudly as he willed himself to slowly leaned upward into a sitting position. Tilting his neck a bit side to side, he flinched a bit as he heard the sounds of his joints cracking. Was it just him or was he starting to outgrow his pillow?

"Alright..." he murmured quietly before he mustered up the strength to fling his legs over so that they were off of the bed.

Getting out of bed, he ran a hand through his hair and grabbed his phone before he slowly wandered towards the door to the bathroom. Just as he passed by his dresser, he stopped as he saw the ring box from the corner of his eye. Even now, just looking at it brought on the feeling of something carving its way into his chest and gripping on to his heart. With Sakura coming, he knew that the feeling would only get worse if she mentioned it.

Sighing quietly, he walked over towards his dresser and picked up the ring box. Opening one of the drawers to his dresser, he dropped it in before turning around to resume his little journey to his bathroom. Rubbing his eyes a bit over the sink, he then took a look at his phone.

Another message from Sakura. Something about her saying that she would be there a bit earlier.

"Great," muttered Naruto as he placed the phone down and looked at himself in the mirror. "I guess I'll just cut my shower short."

Running a hand over his jaw, he took note of the light stubble that had developed during his sleep. Sometimes he wondered whether or not it was a curse to be of mix race like he was. Sure, he got to be tall and blonde, but then again, he had to shave daily or else he would end up looking like a scruffy mess. Perhaps someday he should try growing a beard.

But then again, if he grew a beard, he would lose that boyish charm of his.

He grabbed his toothbrush before turning on the sink. Wetting the tip of his brush under the water, he then applied a generous amount of toothpaste before he began brushing his teeth. While he liked having shiny, white teeth, he hated brushing. It did not help that he was impatient and that he did not enjoy the sensation of mint. He had more than once considered buying one of those tubes of flavoured toothpaste, but in the end, he always brushed the thought to the side.

The only fun part that came with brushing his teeth was the part where he got to spit out the mix of saliva and toothpaste into the sink.

Stripping off his sleeping clothes, which was basically a pair of boxer briefs and a sleeveless t-shirt, he tossed them into the bin before he turned on the shower. Waiting for a few seconds, he stepped in once the shower windows began to fog up.

He sighed softly as the hot water did wonders to his sore muscles and misalligned joints. There was quite nothing like a hot shower right after getting out of bed. If what they said about having a hot shower before bed was true, then the opposite must have also been true, he figured. Hot showers in the morning were just great for waking up. Not as great as a cup of coffee, but great enough.

That reminded him. He needed to get more coffee and to start eating breakfast again. Perhaps if the meeting with Sakura goes by quickly, he could stop on the bakery on the way to work and buy himself a red-bean bun.

Applying some shampoo into his hand, Naruto quickly got to work washing his hair. He loved his hair. It was one of the things about him that he actively took pride in and took care of. Not only was his blonde hair smooth and silky, but it also had great volume. Whilst his mother would have loved to have boasted about being the one who gave him that hair, his father was the one who got all the credit.

As he savoured the hot water, his mind wandered around all the things that had happened in the three weeks. Whilst he knew it was unhealthy to linger too long on the past, he thought that it was right to at least spend some time doing a little self-reflection.

A lot of things had happened, that was for sure.

While, sure, his proposal was declined, he still had some good things happen to him. He got to actually serve the famous, Uchiha family, and actually share a drink with one of them, which was pretty cool. They were as intimidating in real life as they were from their pictures on news, with their bold red eyes and pale skin. Perhaps not Sayuri, however, as she had a much more delicate version of the trademark Uchiha glare compared to her parents.

He slowly stopped moving and allowed himself a few moments to just stand under the water as his mind wandered on to Sayuri. She had been coming to the restaurant on a regular basis, without fail, for about three weeks ago. The first time she had came was with her family, just a few days after Sakura had declined his proposal. He wondered why she came so often. Not even the regulars came that often.

Was it because of the food? Surely, not, right? He was pretty sure the food they served at that fancy Uchiha manor of their's was a heck of a lot more expensive and delicious than whatever Gaara was making.

No offense to Gaara, of course.

Perhaps it had to do something with when they had first come to the restaurant. He had noticed it easily, with all three of them wearing mourning clothes. Since Itachi, the heir, was not there, he had just connected the dots. It was a good thing and a bad thing that he was right. It was good because he did not assume wrong and it was bad, because someone had obviously died.

They must have been going through a hard time, especially Sayuri.

He swallowed quietly as he slowly turned off the water. Naruto knew that he was a sympathetic person, maybe to the point where it was a fault. He just hated when bad things happened to people. If Sayuri continued to come to the restaurant, he would do his very best to ensure that she had a good time. He may not be able to provide help directly, but he would make sure that she was at least content under his care.

Nodding his head in affirmation, he then opened the shower door and grabbed a towel. Running the towel through his hair, he dried his feet on the mat he had set down beside the shower before he walked over and flicked the switch to the ceiling fan.

Tossing his towel into the bin, he then walked over to the mirror and brought out his shaving kit. It consisted of a straight-edge shaving knife and a bunch of half-finished cans of shaving cream. Even he found it a bit strange that he clung to the old way of shaving, but it was his grandpa that taught him how to do it. Why fix something that is not broken, right?

He still remembered when he was still learning. He must have cut himself at least a dozen times within the first month.

That had not been fun.

Rubbing some shaving cream on to his face, he got to work and began shaving off the stubble along his jaw. Maybe he was weird, but he found some satisfaction in the light scraping sound that was made whenever the blade ran against his stubble.

Rinsing off, he rubbed a towel over his face before taking a moment to check himself in the mirror.

He looked good. He felt decent. He would show her that he could still live his life now that she had left.

Dropping his face towel into the same bin he used for everything else, he quickly got out of the bathroom to hunt for some clothes to wear. Walking over to his dresser. he opened a drawer and took out what would be his underwear for the day. A pair of blue boxer-briefs.

Next came his work uniform, a sort of modernized, shortened kimono that mimicked a western style suit. It even came with a tie. Putting that on neatly, he then proceeded to pick out the outfit he would be wearing after he had finished work. He was a simple person, so a pair of jeans, a light shirt and a coat with a fur hood would do just fine.

Just as he had closed the drawer, he heard a knock on the door.

He sighed quietly. "That must be her..."

Walking over to the door. He took a deep breath to prepare himself before opening it.

"Good morning, Sakura."

He greeted her in as nonchalant of a voice that he could muster.

She nodded her head. "Morning, Naruto."

Despite them having done nothing else but exchange greetings, the awkwardness that had infiltrated his apartment building was immediately palpable. It was strange. He had known Sakura all the way back since the beginning of highschool. So many years had passed and yet, despite knowing almost everything about her, she felt like a stranger appearing at her door.

"I've already packed up your stuff," replied Naruto, shrugging his shoulders a bit before gesturing over to his living room. "So it should be easy for you."

"Thanks," she said in response.

Getting out of her way, Naruto kept the door open in till she had stepped past him. He kept standing there as he heard Sakura shuffling around with the bags he had packed. Mustering up some courage, he turned his head to look at Sakura as she checked over her stuff.

"I think that is everything," stated Sakura as she zipped up the bag.

He nodded his head. "Good. I'd hate it if I missed something of yours."

"Was that sarcasm?" she asked, turning her head to look at him.

"No," replied Naruto as he shook his head. "Not at all."

She let out a quiet sigh as she walked towards him with her bags. "Sorry, Naruto, but this is goodbye."

Sakura then leaned in for what he assumed to be a kiss on the cheek, but was stopped as he placed an imposing hand on her shoulder, prompting her to lean back and quirk a brow at him. Her confused expression angered him for some reason - it was as if she was oblivious to the hurt that she has caused him. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to just push her out of his apartment and close the door on her and on all the memories that he had with her.

"Huh?" she let out, her lips pressing together to form a pout.

He had never predicted a day where he would reject those sweet lips of hers.

"No," replied Naruto plainly.

"No?" asked Sakura, as her grip on the bag handles tightened. "What do you mean?"

He let out a long, weary sigh and closed his eyes for a second before opening them. "Look... Sakura. Right now, I'm at odds with you. I have no idea how to feel about you, about what happened to us and what is going to happen next. Someday, perhaps, we may become friends again, but..."

Naruto paused for a second to take a breath.

"I don't think I will ever be able to forgive you."

He watched as she pursed her lips and looked away.

"Is that how it is then?" she asked, her expression turning sullen. "You're just going to brush away all the years that we have known each other?"

Naruto felt his jaw tighten up. "No, Sakura. That would be you."

"Hmph," she grunted in response, her brow furrowing at his words. "I had my reasons."

"I'm sure you did," replied Naruto with a sigh. "I respect your reasons so please respect mine. I don't want you touching me."

She frowned at him. "Oh. Alright then.."

"This is goodbye, Sakura," he stated firmly as he stepped aside so that she could walk out.

She took one last look at him before she let out a ressigned sign and walked past him and out his apartment. He watched her leave for a few seconds before finally closing the door. Standing there for a few more seconds, he took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling. It was weird. He felt a bit lighter, as if the grip around his heart had loosened a bit. He did not know what to make of it.

Walking into his living room, he glanced up at the clock and groaned.

"Great. No breakfast again," he remarked as he grabbed the bag containing his clothes and walked out.

Rushing down to the underground parking, he quickly got into his car before driving off. He did not know what to feel at the moment. Perhaps a mixture of relief and disappointment; relief that he could begin anew and disappointment in the way that Sakura had acted and the fact that he would be once again skipping breakfast.

Oh well. He would get back to it. It was a small promise to himself.

Driving down his usual path, Naruto tried his best to clear his mind. It was never a good idea to go into deep thought whilst driving a car. He would hate himself if he ever ended up hurting anyone. Though he wondered, as he drove towards the restaurant, passing by pedestrians, other cars and buildings, who to hate if the person being hurt was himself.

He was never a hateful person. He was not hateful back in school where he was bullied for being mixed race. He was not hateful when he was fired from his first job because the other employees disliked him, and he would not be hateful now, now that his time with Sakura was over. His friends had once made the comparison that he was an anchor, that when everything else changed, he remained his enthusiastic self.

Naruto smiled. That was a good thought to have. It was something he needed at the moment.

Driving into the employee parking of the restaurant, he parked at his usual spot before taking a good moment to take a breather. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked at himself at his rearview mirror and gave himself a smile.

"Another day," he announced inwardly.

Stepping out of his car, he made his way into the restaurant.

"Morning, Temari!" he greeted as he waved at her.

"Heya, Naruto!" replied Temari, returning the wave, along with giving him a smile as he walked in.

He smiled back. "How's it going?"

"Oh, you know," she answered vaguely as she tilted her head a bit side to side coyly, her smile widening as she did so. "Same old, same old."

Naruto quirked a brow. "Oh? You seem excited about something."

"Well, maybe just a little," admitted Temari, her cheeks turning a light pink. "You know Shikamaru, right?"

"Yeah," he replied, nodding his head. "What about him?"

She let out a pleasant hum, akin to a squeal. "He finally grew a pair and proposed to me!"

"Woah, that's great!" exclaimed Naruto, his eyes widening in surprise at the good news. "Wait, wait, wait."

He paused and dropped his voice down into a loud whisper. "What about Gaara? Does he approve?"

"Pshshshsh. I wouldn't care if he hated Shikamaru's guts," replied Temari, the corner of her lips curving upward into a smirk as she continued speaking. "I've been waiting for this for too damn long and I ain't letting anyone stop us!"

Naruto chuckled. "Well, I wish you happiness then."

"Thanks, Naruto," said Temari in response before glancing up at the clock. "Gaara is gonna be so pissed that I held you up."

"Oh well. I'm sure I can find some sort of excuse," replied Naruto, as he walked past the front desk. "Take care, Temari and congratulations."

She smiled.

"Have a good day, Naruto!"

Nodding his head, he made his way over to the employees' locker room. His locker was, unlike the others, was highly decorated with a bunch of small photos and fun, little gifts. Opening it up, he let out a sigh. He would be needing to store away the photos of him and Sakura soon. Perhaps tomorrow or the day after.

Placing his bag in, he closed the locker before heading towards his station. Doing some last moment checks on the table to make sure that they were polished and as clean as ever, Naruto then got to work setting up all the utensils, along with the cups.

There was something calming about repetition. He was sure that if he wanted to, he could easily keep doing the same thing for the rest of his life. Just him, his work, and his thoughts.

Sitting down for a bit in one of the seats, he stretched his arms a bit as he waited for the first wave of guests to arrive.

He wondered if Sayuri would be coming by again.

She was an interesting person to interact with for sure. Underneath that pale and beautiful appearance of hers was someone that he had not expected at all to have come from the Uchiha family. He had always expected them to be a solemn bunch, but Sayuri was fun, perhaps a little sarcastic, but overall, she was pretty fun to talk to.

Sure, she had some quips here and there, and she loved to tease him, but there was some charm to that subtle smirk of hers.

Suddenly, he heard the door open and closed, followed up by Temari greeting whoever had just came in. Leaning his head towards where the front desk was, he decided to listen to their conversation.

"Back again, Sayuri?" asked Temari, her voice as enthusiastic as ever. "Back for the food or are you back because of Naruto?"

Well then. That was ironic, he thought. It was quite the coincidencethat she would just show up right after he had asked himself whether or not she would show up. He felt the corners of his lips curve upward into a small smile as he anticipated another fun hour and a half sharing small talk and chatting with the young and beautiful heiress.

Standing up from the seat that had been sitting in, he brushed his uniform smooth and awaited Sayuri's presence at his station.

"Just send me to my table," was Sayuri's reply, her voice just loud enough for Naruto to pick up.

Naruto snorted and almost chuckled.

"Alright, alright," said Temari teasingly in response. "Come this way and I shall bring you to your awaiting prince."

He let out a wheeze into his hand as he had to muster all the willpower in his body not to break into a laugh. If that had been any other diner, then Temari would have been immediately dragged out of the front desk by the ear by Kankuro before being scolded and forced to give a public apology. Luckily for Temari, Kankuro was nowhere near at the moment.

Straightening up his posture, he stood patiently in till he saw Sayuri and Temari come into view. He had already seen Temari a bit earlier, so he directed his attention more towards Sayuri. She had her hair up in the same style of ponytail that he had seen her with the week before, but it seems that she had brought a different outfit this time. She was wearing a dark-grey coat on top of a navy-blue shirt this time around, along with what appeared to be a black pair of jeans.

She seemed to really like dark and plain colours.

As the two came closer, he offered a polite bow.

"Welcome back again, Sayuri," he greeted with a smile. "I'll take care of things from here Temari."

Temari nodded her head before tossing him the menu and walking back to the front desk.

"Hey, Naruto," replied Sayuri as she gave him a curt wave.

"I'm surprised that you've come back so soon," remarked Naruto as he gestured for her to follow him. "I thought it'd be at least another week."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I got bored staying at home."

"How can living in a giant mansion be boring?" he asked teasingly, as he guided her to a table by the window.

"All I have in my room is my piano and a bunch of books," answered Sayuri, offering Naruto a small smile as she sat down. "As much as I love playing the piano and reading, there are other things I also enjoy doing."

"Like eating here?"

She nodded her head. "Mhm."

"You really like that poached salmon, huh?" he asked, as he placed the menu down in front of her.

The corner of her lips tugged slightly upward into a subtle smirk. "Among other things."

"Oh?" he let out, quirking a brow. "What would those other things be?"

"It's nothing," replied Sayuri, shrugging once more, as she turned her gaze away from him for a few seconds to look down at the menu.

"Alright, alright. I won't pry," said Naruto reassuringly. "Shall I bring you some hot sake like last time?"

She quirked a brow. "Isn't it way too early to be drinking?"

"It also happens to be quite the cloudy and cold day today," replied Naruto enthusiastically, offering Sayuri a smile as he gestured towards the weather outside. "And the best thing for such a day would have to be some hot sake along with a warm and soothing meal."

"If you weren't a waiter, I'm sure you would be a salesperson," remarked Sayuri as she placed her elbows on the table.

He chuckled. "I bet I would. I'd be pretty good at it too!"

"Sure," she replied before tapping her fingers against the table. "I'll have some sake, but only if you'll share a drink with me like you did last time."

Naruto smiled. "Sure, Sayuri. I'd love to share a drink with you."

"You don't have to ask your boss this time?" asked Sayuri, glancing away from him for a short few seconds as she hid the subtle blush that had formed on her cheeks with her hair.

"I think you've grown a bit on this restaurant," he answered with a shrug. "Not many people come so often, especially not as often as three times in the same month as they first came here. Though then again, it could do with the fact that you're the daughter of one of the richest families in all of Japan."

She snorted. "When you say that, you're complimenting my parents, not me."

"My apologies," replied Naruto, offering her a smile and a tilt of his head. "Let me come up with a compliment that fits you."

"Go for it."

"Alright," acknowledged Naruto before he let out a quiet, contemplative hum. "Hmm... Well, I can't compliment how beautiful you are, because I'm sure your parents contributed to that, so I will try to stray away from the shallow compliments."

As he continued to ramble on about a bunch of other possible compliments for her, he completely missed the faint, red glow in her cheeks, slowly spreading to her ears.

"Just say something," she said in a beckoning voice, as she covered her flushed cheeks with her hands.

He gave her an apologetic smile.

"Alright, alright, Sayuri. I'm only takin' this long because I'd feel bad if I gave you the wrong compliment."

She quirked a brow. "How can there be a wrong compliment? A compliment is a compliment."

"Yeah, but I'm trying to find a compliment good enough for you."

"You're.. You're teasing me, right?" she asked with a slight stammer, much to her embarrassment. "Are you like this with everyone or just me?"

Naruto chuckled and his eyes lit up with amusement. "Just you, Sayuri."

He counted it as a small victory at using Sayuri's own words from the last time they had talked against her to make her blush.

"Hmph," she grunted quietly, biting her tongue a bit as she tried to hide any strong reaction to his words. "Just go get my sake."

He nodded his head and smiled. "I'll be as quick as I can."

With that said, he bowed politely before leaving to fetch Sayuri a flask of hot sake. He liked this little set up that they had starting to go on. He would get her some sake and she would ask him to share a drink with her. Then he would get to drink some delicious sake while also getting to enjoy her company. It was starting to become the highlight of his days.

Walking into the room where they stored the sake, he opened one of the cabinets up before picking out a good bottle. Pulling the cork out, he poured a flask's worth into a narrow decanter before making his way to where they kept the bath of water to that they used to heat up sake.

He sort of loss count, but he was sure it only took a minute or two.

Grabbing two saucers, he walked back to Sayuri's table.

"I made sure to bring two this time so I don't have to make a return trip," he stated with a smile, holding up the two saucers before setting the decanter and the two saucers on to the table.

"You learn well," she remarked teasingly, returning the smile, albeit hers being much more subtle than his.

Naruto let out a soft chuckle. "That's how I keep this job."

"Heh," snorted Sayuri in response before she gestured to the seat opposite to her. "Sit down already."

She said that a bit more hastily than she had wanted to.

"Alright, alright, I'm not going anywhere... Not in till more guests arrive anyways," he replied, smoothly sliding the two saucers and the decanter on to the table before sitting down in front of her.

He then proceeded to pour her some sake. "Here you go, Sayuri."

"Thanks," she said quietly in response as she pulled her saucer towards herself. "Should I get yours like last time?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, you are my guest, I can pour for myself."

She shook her head. "Yes, but isn't it customary to let the other person pour for you when offered?"

"Yes, but this is a special occasion," argued Naruto softly as he reached for the decanter once more to pour for himself.

Sayuri did the same, her brow furrowing a bit as she eagerly reached forward in an effort to get to the decanter before Naruto did. She succeeded, albeit awkwardly, as she was just quick enough to wrap her slender fingers around the decanter before Naruto's fingers wrapped around hers. Her eyes widened at the sudden heat that seemed to engulf her hand before slowly turning her attention from the decanter towards Naruto. It seemed that he was almost as surprised as she was.

She felt her cheeks heat up. "Naruto."

"Sayuri," he responded quietly.

There was a long pause before he suddenly pulled his hand back. Forcing a smile in hopes of defusing the awkwardness, Naruto raised his arm before coughing quietly into his sleeve. Hopefully Sayuri was not able to see the blush the had on his cheeks that he was now desperately trying to hide behind his arm.

"Sorry for that. I didn't mean to."

"N-No, it's fine..." replied Sayuri, her voice just slightly above a whisper as she slowly pulled the decanter towards her. "There's no need to apologize."

She cleared her throat. "Raise your glass."

"S-Sure," he stammered in response as he complied with Sayuri's order and raised his saucer.

Sayuri swallowed quietly as she raised the decanter and poured Naruto some sake. While she was seemingly calm on the outside, she was cursing herself inwardly. She had just been spoon-fed something right out of a cliche romance novel and she had completely screwed it up. Why on Earth did she just have to freeze up like that? Where was that Uchiha gall that her family was known for?!

God, she was pissed. She just wanted to smack herself.

On Naruto's side, things were not going much better for him. While he looked cool, or at least he thought he looked cool, he felt himself panick just a bit on the inside. Not only had he just touched the heiress to Japan's most powerful country without her permission, but he had actually gotten away with it! He knew something was up. He was not that empty-headed. There was obviously something to do with him and the way that Sayuri treated him. He just did not want to jump into assumptions.

It was there again, that awkwardness. While not nearly as bad as it was when Sakura had come to pick up her stuff, it was still blaringly obvious.

"So. Uh, Sayuri-..."

"Drink," she stated sternly as she placed the decanter on the table.

Naruto quirked a brow at Sayuri's sudden change in tone. "Sure..?"

Raising his saucer, he tilted it back and drank. Thankfully, the sake was still hot. Hopefully this little pause in conversation would allow for the awkwardness he felt between them to reset. As he placed his saucer back on to the table, he widened his eyes in surprise as he saw that Sayuri was already pouring herself another round.

"Sayuri?"

"You know what, Naruto?" she began, swirling the saucer of sake in her hand, causing the clear liquid to swish around the shallow cup. "There's just something about you."

He blinked. "Something about me?"

"Yes," answered Sayuri, nodding her head before she brought the saucer closer to her lips. "Whenever I'm here at the restaurant with you, you always just seem to just give me this weird feeling."

"Is it a good feeling or a bad feeling..?" asked Naruto, swallowing quietly.

She took a sip from her glass and savoured what little sake that she had taken in. Her gaze turned down at the saucer in her hand before slowly turning back up to look at Naruto. That movement felt calculated, almost as if she did it to cause him to feel even more anticipation than he already did.

"I'm going to say anything about that yet," replied Sayuri with a shrug as she placed the saucer on to the table before she slowly ran her finger around the rim of it. "I hardly know you well enough to be certain of any of my feelings."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Sayuri snorted softly. "Hm. Perhaps I am, but even I don't know what I'm saying. I'm just little my mouth run off. It's that stupidly enthusiastic attitude of yours affecting me, Naruto."

She let out a quiet sigh, before taking a deep breath. Her breath was cut short as the door opened and the sound of Temari greeting the next group of diners brushed by both of their ears. For a second, she seemed to panick, but managed to recover quickly, in only the span of two, maybe three, seconds.

"Give me your phone," she ordered, her tone commanding and quick.

"S-Sure," replied Naruto, suttering a bit before he scrambled to get his phone out of his pocket before turning it on and sliding it towards Sayuri.

Sayuri quickly picked up the phone and began typing something. Her slender fingers made it easy for her to use the tiny keys on the phone's keyboard. As she did so, Naruto could not help but admire how much better she seemed to be with technology than he was.

"Here," she said plainly as she slid the phone back towards him.

He quirked a brow as he glanced down at his phone and then at her. "What is this?"

The corner of her lips curved upward into a smirk.

"It's my phone number. Please do make sure to call me."

His eyes widened slowly in surprise and in complete doubt of himself. Was she actually considering him, out of every other man that she could possibly have access to? No way, he was no where near good enough for someone like her. Heck, he had not even been good enough for Sakura. He opened his mouth to say something, or to decline, but there was something about that slight glint in Sayuri's eyes.

Despite that confident smirk on her face, there was something to her whole expression that just screamed frayed nerves and barely suppressed embarrassment.

Naruto nodded his head slowly. "Will do."

He managed a smile.

"Good," she replied, leaning back into her seat before she tapped her fingers against the table.

"I'm thinking that maybe I'll have the mackeral this time."

Standing up, Naruto let out a quiet snort.

"Sure."

* * *

 **A/N: You know what, I realized that the title for the previous chapter worked so much better for this chapter. So I made a new chapter title for the previous chapter and I used the previous chapter title for this chapter! If that was not confusing, then I do not know what is. Awkwardness makes for some rather cute moments, don't you agree? Please favourite, follow and review! I love feedback!**


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